Birds of Mount Abu in the second week of February 2023.

February is an excellent time for birdwatching, and it's great to witness the variety of birds in one's area during this time. Some of the common birds observed during this time of the year are a variety of birds in their mating plumage. Sunbirds, robins, Sparrows, Herons etc I've put together a collection of birds photographed between 9 Feb to 14 Feb.

Bonelli's Eagle - Aquila fasciata

Common Pochard - Aythya ferina

Eurasian Coot - Fulica atra

Gadwall - Mareca strepera

Green-winged Teal - Anas crecca

Indian Spot-billed Duck - winter visitor

Indian Spot-billed Duck - Anas poecilorhyncha

Northern Pintail - Anas acuta

Northern Shoveler - Spatula clypeata

Tufted Duck - Aythya fuligula

Green Sandpiper - Tringa ochropus

Gray Wagtail - Motacilla cinerea

Indian Pond-Heron - Ardeola grayii

Eurasian Crag-Martin - Ptyonoprogne rupestris

Common Tailorbird - Orthotomus sutorius

Indian Silverbill - Euodice malabarica

Indian Yellow Tit - Machlolophus aplonotus

Large-billed Crow - Corvus macrorhynchos

Peregrine Falcon (Shaheen) Falco peregrinus.

Sykes's Warbler - Iduna rama0F

Woolly-necked Stork - Ciconia episcopus

Birding in December Mount Abu.

The initial week of December was a bummer, as most days were dismal. Our winters have set in day temperatures hover between 15 and 20 degrees. Night conditions drop below 10 degrees as December moves towards Christmas. Abu can foresee its frost and temperatures going down as little as -4 degrees. Birding during winter is stimulating throughout the cold seasons. Abu gets a few transient waterbirds such as Common Pochard, Eurasian Coot, Eurasian Moorhen, Gadwall, Green-winged teal, Northern pintail, Northern Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Common Sandpiper, Common Snipe, a few variations of sandpipers, wagtails and cormorants also photographed here. It’s the season of the year to capture an assortment of warblers, flycatchers and raptors.

1 December 2021.

Appreciate my birding in the abode of gods 'Mount Abu"

Northern Shoveler - Spatula clypeata

Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica

Black-winged Kite - Elanus caeruleus

Common Pochard - Aythya ferina

Eurasian Coot - Fulica atra

Gadwall - Mareca strepera

Green-winged Teal - Anas crecca

Northern Shoveler - Spatula clypeata

Tufted Duck - Aythya fuligula

Tree Pipit - Anthus trivialis

White-eared Bulbul - Pycnonotus leucotis

Yellow-throated Sparrow - Gymnoris xanthocollis

2 Dec 2021.

Peregrine Falcon (Shaheen) Falco peregrinus

Shikra - Accipiter badius

Short-toed Snake-Eagle - Circaetus gallicus

3 Dec 2021.

Eurasian Crag-Martin - Ptyonoprogne rupestris

Eurasian Sparrowhawk - Accipiter nisus

Greater Coucal - Centropus sinensis

4 Dec 2021.

Ashy Drongo - Dicrurus leucophaeus

Common Buzzard - Buteo buteo

Eurasian Crag-Martin - Ptyonoprogne rupestris

Purple Sunbird - Cinnyris asiaticus

5 Dec 2021.

Ashy Drongo - Dicrurus leucophaeus

Eurasian Crag-Martin - Ptyonoprogne rupestris

Little Cormorant - Microcarbo niger

Long-tailed Shrike - Lanius schach

Shikra - Accipiter badiu

Yellow-throated Sparrow - Gymnoris xanthocollis

6 Dec 2021.

Ashy Drongo - Dicrurus leucophaeus

Common Chiffchaff - Phylloscopus collybita

Dusky Crag-Martin - Ptyonoprogne concolor

Egyptian Vulture - Neophron percnopterus

Green Sandpiper - Tringa ochropus

Black Kite - Milvus migrans

Butler recorded the species as abundant (1875). Even as late as the 1940s, McCann (1942) identified the species as “common”. I’ve merely recorded this species twice in all my years of birding in Abu. Perhaps their source of food had dwindled. I have observed that the Tawny and the Steppe eagle, which were regular visitors here in Abu are now like the other birds of prey gradually fading away.